Hello Patrick,
It's important to protect yourself. I suggest you look into getting a PPA (Provisional Patent Application). It's only $105, you can file it yourself and a PPA let's you say Patent Pending for one year.
But first, you need to do some research and figure out which manufacturers you could license this idea to. Always do your research before filing for any sort of protection.
The information you gather will not only help you figure out if you want to move forward with the project, but will also help you file better protection _base_d on what you have learned.
Keep Inventing,
Stephen Key
http://www.inventRight.com